Simple Solutions
by ExcellentDriver
Summary: Parker wants to know why his dad broke up with Brennan. When the answer he gets doesn't satisfy him, he figures out sometimes a child can understand things better than grownups. Follow-up to 6x08.
1. Chapter 1

**Just because I love how even though Parker accepted Hannah, he couldn't hide his love for Brennan. And Brennan's happiness when Parker said she was cool? I wanted to pinch her cheeks.

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"So, I believe you and Hannah are friends now." Booth smiled at his son as they drove back to Rebecca's house in the end of the weekend. It'd been the first weekend the three of them spent together and his boy seemed to be getting along pretty well with his girlfriend, for which he was thankful for, given Parker's previous reluctance about meeting her.

"Yeah, she's nice." Parker agreed with a shrug.

"See? I hope you learnt that it's not right to judge someone before you meet them." Booth glanced at him. Then curiosity won him over. "Why did you tell me you hated Hannah when you've never met her?"

Parker avoided his father's face and played with the zipper of his backpack.

"Because I wanted _Bones_ to be your girlfriend." The boy admitted, not meeting his father's eyes.

Booth clenched his fingers at the steering wheel and kept his eyes on the road.

"And why's that?" He gulped.

Parker snorted.

"Because Bones is so cool and I love when we spend time with her. And since you started dating Hannah, we've never gone out together anymore." Parker whined. "And if you weren't dating Hannah anymore, you could start dating Bones again and things would go back to normal."

"I- I've never dated Bones." Booth gasped. _Why would Parker think something like that?_

"_You didn't_?" Parker turned his face to look at his father. "But we always went everywhere together, and we went to her pool, and she helped me with my homework." Parker creased his forehead thoughtfully. "That's what Madeline, that's Jonathan's step-mother, does with him. That's because she's a nice step-mother, differently from Lorraine, Nicole's step-mother, who is a _b-i-a-t-c-h_." He grimaced.

"_Parker_!"

"Sorry, dad, but that's what Nicole's mom said, and Nicole says she's really mean. Once Lorraine got the sunglasses her Mom have her for Christmas when Nicole wasn't there at her father's house in the weekend, and then Nicole could never use the glasses again because they got too loose." Parker explained. "Besides, you always looked all lovey-dovey at Bones, and then you two smiled at each other and you got your cheeks pink."

"My cheeks do_ not_ get pink." Booth snorted.

"They did when Bones smiled at you. It doesn't get with Hannah, but they did with Bones." Parker said matter-of-factly. "I saw that, Dad, with my very own eyes, and the doctor said I have perfectly good sight." He added proudly. "You two looked at each other like those people in Mom's stupid movies."

"We didn't-" He shook his head like his son was speaking non-sense.

"Dad, why did you break up with Bones?" The boy cut him off and asked curiously. "Don't you love her? Did she do something_ bad_?" He asked carefully.

"We never broke up _because we never even got together_." Booth said with less patience than he intended.

"She looked sad that day at the diner." Parker commented ignoring his father's words. "Can you take me to the lab next week so she can help me with my science homework? She says she doesn't mind and if Ben thinks he can win the science project with his father's help, I want to see his face when I show the project Bones' will help me with."

"Parker…"

"Because Bones is the smartest person in the world, right?" Parker smirked.

"Yeah, she's pretty smart." Booth had to agree. And then something hit him and he chuckled. "Although she'd tell you that even though she's very intelligent, it is impossible to know that, since you obviously do not know every person in the world and, therefore, you can't measure their intelligence."

Parker chuckled too. "She totally would."

They sat in silent for a while, when Parker spoke again.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Why doesn't she have kids?"

"Bones?" Booth swallowed. The thought of her request a couple of years before came to his mind. Had she gone with the process of fertilization, their baby would be about one and a half year old now. His heart sank_. How could you grief and miss something you'd never had? _He pushed the thought of an adorable blue-eyed baby away.

The boy nodded.

"I don't know, Parks." He said. She'd never brought the subject of having a kid up again. He just concluded she had quit the idea.

"I think she'd be a great mom." Parker said. "I mean, since she knows everything and stuff. And she's always very patient while explaining things to me."

"Yes, she would." Booth smiled.

"And she's very pretty. Also, she is so cool and can do a cannonball better than anyone else!" Parker raised one eyebrow as he remembered. "She better explain to me how she can spill so much water when she hits the pool. She said it's about physics and weight and strength, but I didn't understand."

"Looks like someone has a crush on my partner…" Booth teased, a smile playing on his face. It was cute seeing how much his son loved Brennan. He remembered his first crush ever was on his English teacher, and although he didn't like school that much, he'd always behave his best at her classes.

"What?" Parker chocked in shock. "No! Ew, Dad! She's _old."_

"Bones is not old."

"Yeah, not for _you_. I wish she could be my step-mother." He said.

"And Hannah?" Booth threw the bait. "Would you like her to be your step-mother?"

Parker's eyes doubled the size. "You're marrying her?"

"No- I mean, not yet… but… would you be sad if I did?"

"Hannah is nice, Dad." Parker said in a low tone. "But I don't know if I want her to be my step-mother." He admitted. "She didn't know much about the animals when we went to the zoo and she doesn't want to have kids. Besides, she doesn't even have a pool."

"She doesn't want kids?" Booth asked surprised. "How do you know that?"

"'Cause she told me." He shrugged. "She told me she doesn't want to have kids, but if one day she does, she'll adopt, because there are already too many children in the world."

"Well… that's a nice thing." Booth commented. But although he'd already thought about adopting, he couldn't help wishing to have another biological child. He wanted to be able to participate in the whole pregnancy process, sonograms, doctor's appointment, something he was never able to do when Rebecca was pregnant.

"Yes, but dad, I still want a little brother or sister…" Parker pouted. "I'm almost ten, and Mom says she doesn't want more kids because I'm enough for her. And Hannah does not want them. She says if she has children, she'll adopt. _If_. That means 'never' in grownups speech. Can't you ask Bones?"

"_What_?" Booth gasped.

"Well, she's pretty lonely and she's cool and smart. I think she'd like a baby. And then I could have a little brother or sister, she wouldn't be lonely anymore and you could be with Hannah and not have babies, because Bones would already have my brother or sister." Parker said like it was the simplest solution.

"Parker, I'd never leave Bones alone when she had my baby." He said seriously. "And I don't think Hannah would like this idea very much."

"Then break up with Hannah and get together again with Bones and give me a little brother and sister." Parker suggest gleefully. "And Hannah can still be our friend. She says she's Bones' friend and she's also my friend and I think she likes you too."

"Parker, I can't break up with Hannah and start dating Bones."

"Why not?"

"Because… there are feelings involved there…"

"Don't you love Bones?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then you can do that, Dad. Hannah is nice, she'll understand." Parker said without a hint of a doubt.

"Parker-"

"We're here!" He screamed when he saw the front of his house. "Mom is making pizza tonight."

"Sounds good." Booth grinned, happy with the change of the subject. "I'll pick you up next week, bub. Thanks for the great weekend." He bumped his fist with Parker's.

"It was fun." Parker nodded and hopped out of the car after hugging his father. "Oh, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Those guys who look at the girls and blush in mom's stupid movies? They always end up with the girl in the end, even if they have a girlfriend in the middle of the movie."

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**If you wish you could see Booth and Parker in the pool with Brennan and Brennan doing a cannonball, raise your hand!**

**o/**

**I'd LOVE to see that! It would be so hilarious and adorable!**

**And about next week? So excited about it! =D**

**Btw, would you be interested in reading a follow up in this story with Parker and Brennan?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Since a lot of you showed interest in reading more of this little story… here it goes… I think it might be a short story with 4 or 5 chapters.**

**I hope you enjoy this one! It's mostly cuteness!**

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"I'm_ so _glad Dad had to go back to the FBI and Hannah is working this weekend." Parker said after Booth dropped him off at Brennan's apartment. It was his weekend with the boy and they were getting ready for a day at the paintball field when Booth got a call from the FBI demanding him to be there for an urgent meeting. Since Hannah was on call that night at the newspaper, he asked Brennan if she could watch the boy for the afternoon, which she accepted with a smile on her face. The boy would be a great company for the Saturday she expected to spend alone, like all the previous ones since she got back from Indonesia.

"Booth hates to work on weekends, especially the ones he has you." Brennan commented as she dropped Parker's backpack on the couch.

"I know, but I missed you, Bones. And now that he and Hannah are working, I'm glad that I got to be with you." He smiled the patented Booth charming smile and melted Brennan's heart immediately.

"You did?" She asked tearing up. _When did she become so emotional?_

"Of course!" He sat at the couch, completely unceremoniously. He'd always felt comfortable around her, and Brennan's heart swelled. She'd seen that kid grow. Before she met Parker, she'd never thought about having children of her own, but he was such an easy kid and talking and being around him felt so natural that she thought that maybe she would be a good mother. That maybe motherhood wasn't that scary. "We used to hang out together all the time, but since now Hannah's dad's girlfriend and you aren't anymore, we don't see each other that much, so I miss you."

Brennan felt her heart sinking. "Your father and I…" She shuttered. "We've… we've never dated, Parker."

The kid rolled his eyes.

"Dad said the same, but you totally did, Bones." Parker folded his arms on his chest and tapped the empty place in the couch as telling her to sit next to him. They had to have that little talk. _Grownups were so stupid sometimes._ "I told Dad that you guys got pink cheeks when you looked at each other and smiled, you know, that annoying thing you two did when you looked at each other like there wasn't anyone else around and I had to call you a_ zillion_ times so you could look at me?"

Brennan's expression changed in surprise and she felt her cheeks burning. "We've never done that."

"I thought you didn't lie, Bones." Parker sighed and shook his head disappointed.

"I don't."

"You are when you're saying you didn't date my dad." He said like he was an expert on that subject. Well, he had a very good knowledge on that matter after eight years of being forced to watch chick flicks with his mom. "Mom makes me watch stupid love movies all the time, and you and dad looked at each other like the couples in love in those movies. You know, pink cheeks, silly smiles, goofy face…"

"We weren't like that…" Brennan swallowed.

"See, your cheeks are pink right now." He pointed at her face and smiled, which only made her blush even more.

_Damn you, super pale skin._

"I thought you and Hannah were friends." She decided to change the focus of the conversation.

"We are. She's nice, but I like you much better." Parker shuddered, like there was no discussion on that matter. "I wish you were Dad's girlfriend again."

Brennan figured out denying that she was ever Booth's girlfriend wouldn't change a thing about the boy's opinion, so she decided to change the subject completely, even though she couldn't help feeling happy that the boy liked her better than Hannah. At least one of the Booths did. "So, did you bring your homework so we can finish it pretty quickly and then do something fun?" She waggled her eyebrows and smiled at him. She promised Booth she'd do the homework with Parker – she really didn't mind – before letting him play videogame or something.

"Yeah! I've got tons of science homework!" He said excitedly. "Hannah doesn't know a thing about animals." He commented as he took his notebook out of his backpack. "Can you believe she thought dolphins were fish?" He said like it was the worst sin in the world.

"She d-i-d-n't!" Brennan's mouth hanged opened.

"She_ did_!" The boy's eyed widened, agreeing with the absurd of that lack of knowledgement. "I mean, I thought it was _obvious_ for the whole world that they are mammals! Even a _pre-scholar_ would know that."

"Well, I guess not everyone remembers everything they learn at school." Brennan said. "Hannah is pretty good at what she does."

"Dad said she writes on the paper. It sounds boring." He made a face.

"Uh-hum, she's a journalist." Brennan helped him opening the notebook as they sat at the table. "But I don't think it's actually boring. She likes adventures and went to a lot of places in the world."

"And you did too, right?" He tilted his head a bit to look at her and smiled. "Dad told me you went to a lot of different countries and had a lot of adventures!"

Brennan chuckled. "Yes, I did."

"Did you go to many forests? I've always wanted to go to a forest!"

"Quite a lot, yes. I went to Guatemala, and Peru, and I just came back from Indonesia."

"Cool. Have you ever gone to the Amazon?" He asked curiously. "It's _huge_!"

"Yep, right after I graduated. It's very beautiful." She nodded.

"And have you ever seen Indians? _Did they get you on a trap_?" His eyes got widen with excitement. He loved hearing her stories. They used to be better than what he saw in the movies.

"Yes, I've met some Indians at the Amazon, but they were very nice. But when I was in the Maluku Islands,_ Daisy and I were attacked by armed guerrillas_." She lowered her voice's tone and told him like it was a secret, which make him look at her in amazement.

"And what did you do?"

"Well, Miss Wick was pretty useless, and I'm trained in three types of martial arts. So I used her to distract the men and beat them up!" She said proudly and opened her crooked smile.

"_By yourself_?" His jaw dropped.

"Yeah, I've got a shovel and_ bam_!" She clapped her hands together. "I hit them on the face and shove their guns away."

"That's_ so_ cool." His eyes sparkled.

"Well, at the moment we were pretty desperate, but now that it's over, yes, it's quite cool to remember." She agreed.

"You're like Buffy, the vampire slayer, but instead of vampires and demons, you kick bad people's asses!"

"I assume that is some fictional character, since there is no such thing as vampires and demons." She squinted and Parker just shook his head amused. _Some things never changed._

"She's the most awesomest heroine ever! She's pretty and very strong and she's the coolest girl on TV."

Brennan felt so flattered that she forgot to correct his grammar. It wasn't bad to be compared to such an awesome character.

"Well, then thank you." She smiled shyly. "Okay, now we better start with your homework if we want to go to the pool later…"

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"You promised you'd teach me how to do the cannonball, Bones!" He frowned when she said she wouldn't get in the pool that afternoon.

"I can teach you from my seat, Parker." She tried. "I'll be reading a book."

"But there's no fun on going to the pool alone!" Parker pouted. "Pleeease, Bones. Pretty please?" He stuck out his bottom lip and held his hands together in front of her in a plead.

She narrowed her eyes with suspicion.

"Are you trying the kitten face on me?"

"Puppy dog face, Bones, puppy dog face." Parker went out of his pleading character to explain to her. Then he put his best puppy dog face on again. "It works with Mom… pu-leee-zeee, Bones?"

She shook her head as she chuckled. "Okay, fine… fine… Who am I to not fall in Parker Booth's puppy dog face?"

Brennan thought the smile that opened on his face could shine a whole town.

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"One, two, _three_!" Parker yelled and Brennan started to run towards the pool, holding her legs together against her chest right before she hit the water and dived. "_AMAZING_!" He said fascinated as he started counting the steps to see how far she was able to spill the water.

"So, how was I?" She asked when she came back to the surface.

"You made a new record, Bones. _Seven_ steps." He showed her seven fingers. "Tell me, Bones, how do you do that?"

"As I told you before, it's all about physics, the velocity I run, plus how high I jump added with my weight." She explained. "You're in disadvantage for being smaller than me."

"That sucks." He pursed his lips. "I hope someday I'll be as good as you are doing cannonballs."

Brennan chuckled. She wondered how long it had been since she had so much fun in a day.

"You will." She took an impulse and sat on the edge of the pool. "And you want to know something?"

"What?"

"I think you'll be even better." She bumped her shoulders with his when he sat next to her.

"Really?"

"Of course." She smiled. "You have a lot more time to practice than I did."

They sat there at the edge for a couple of minutes, just playing with the water with their feet when Brennan suddenly jumped on the pool again, spilling water all over Parker, who laughed and went after her.

"I know another game we can play at the pool." She said.

"Which one? I _love_ games!"

"It's called Marco Polo." She floated relaxed as she explained to him the rules. "I used to play it all the time with my brother when I was your age. One of us have to close our eyes, and then we have to find the other. To make the challenge easier, the one who is searching can call the one he has to find, and to do that he has to call "Marco", and the one who is running away answers "Polo"."

"That sounds cool." Parker nodded excited. "So, can I start running, or should I say _swimming_?"

"Swimming is fine." She agreed. "So I'll close my eyes and count to ten and you go somewhere in the pool and tries not to be caught, right?"

"Right!"

Brennan counted to ten and started calling him out. It took her about two minutes to get to the little boy, who was an extraordinary swimmer.

"Oh, no!" He giggled as she grabbed him by his feet.

"'Caught you, big boy." She said playfully. "Now, it's your turn."

"Fine."

Parker counted till ten. "Marco?"

"Polo!"

"Marco?"

"Polo!"

_Thirty seconds._

That was all that the youngest Booth took to catch Brennan.

"_Aha_!" He yelled victoriously as he wrapped his little arms around her waist and she yelped in surprise. "Gotcha, Bones!"

"_You cheated, Parker Booth_!" She tried to talk with a serious tone but burst into laughter before she could control herself.

"Oh, I _didn't_!" He said very seriously.

"I'm pretty certain I saw you peeking through your fingers."

"I don't think so." He chuckled, knowing that he had been busted.

"You know what I do with cheaters, Mr. Booth?" She asked mischievously.

"What?" He said, the smile on his face growing wider.

"_Tickles_!" Brennan started tickling him on the neck and on his armpits before he could swim away.

"_No_! No tickling!" He giggled loudly. "No tickling! Not fair! Not fait!"

"That's what you get for cheating! No cheating! _No cheating_!" She said, laughing as much as the little boy. "Will you ever cheat again on the game?"

"No!" _Laughs._

"Promise?" She asked.

"I promise! I promise!" He squealed. "No more cheating! No more cheating!"

"Okay, then I forgive you." She stopped with the tickling and they kept laughing for a few more seconds, their stomachs hurting, but it was a good pain, it was happiness' pain.

Parker surprised the anthropologist suddenly by wrapping his arms around her neck and hugging her tightly.

"What's wrong?" She asked concerned.

"I really missed you so much, Bones." He whimpered, still holding her.

"I missed you too, Parker." She said hugging him back, feeling her eyes stinging with tears.

"Bones…" He let go of her and looked at her face, knowing that there wouldn't be a better time to ask her the question he'd been wanting to ask for so long. "Why don't you have kids?"

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**Still interested in reading where this is going? ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Awww, you guys!**

**I don't even know what to say about your amazing reviews! I'm sorry I'm not replying to everyone, but I'm working now and I still have college, which means I have no spare time at all, and really, without your incentive here, I'd never write this story, let alone update this fast. **

**So, thank you so much for your kind words. Nothing makes me happier than reading what you have to say about the story and I'm so glad everyone is enjoying it.**

**I hope you like this chapter, it's probably not exactly what you expected, but do your job and poke me to update and I promise I'll do my best to update soon. :)**

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The meeting ended earlier than he expected and Booth was standing in front of Brennan's door at 5 pm. After knocking for a few minutes and getting no answer, he figured out they could only be at one place. Brennan would never take his son somewhere before telling him first. With their professions, she knew better than going on surprise outings. They could never know when something might happen with them.

It was middle January, so he walked toward the warmed pool. Parker preferred the pool in the outside, but since he would be freezing if he was out there, he enjoyed the one inside as well. That kid loved the water, nonetheless.

Booth was approaching the pool area's door when he heard Brennan's voice calling "Marco?", followed by Parker's "Polo!". He opened the door three inches and couldn't help spying on his son and his partner.

Brennan had her eyes closed and tried to catch Parker, who swam like a ray every time she got closer to him. But Brennan was just as good as him, and it didn't take her much longer to grab the boy by his ankle.

"Oh, no!" His boy's giggles entered his ears and he smiled.

"'Caught you, big boy." His partner said in such a cheerful way that Booth felt his heart aching. He hadn't seemed she smile like that in a long time. "Now it's your turn."

"Fine." Parker agreed and brought his hand up to his face, covering his eyes as he counted to ten and Brennan swam away. "Marco?" He shouted when he was done.

"Polo!"

"Marco!"

"Polo!"

The little boy disappeared for a few seconds, and Booth chuckled when he saw the blonde head coming out of the water, hair plastered on his forehead, followed by an "Ahá!" coming from Parker's mouth and such a girly yelp he's only seem Brennan doing once before in his life.

"Gotcha, Bones!" His son told her.

"_You cheated, Parker Booth!" _She burst into laughter and Booth realized that was the best sound in the world, the sound of her laughter along with his boy's.

"Oh, I _didn't_!" Parker tried.

"I'm pretty certain I saw you peeking through your fingers." Booth caught himself chuckling again. Poor Parker who thought something could pass through Brennan's eagle eyes.

"I don't think so." The boy said, obviously knowing he had been busted.

"You know what I do with cheaters, Mr. Booth?" Brennan asked his son and Booth was curious about what she was going to do. It wasn't a common thing to see Brennan acting so relaxed and enjoying herself like that.

"What?" Parker asked, smiling so wide Booth wanted to hug Brennan just for making his kid so happy.

"_Tickles_!" And then both his son and his partner started laughing so loudly that the sound of their laughs completely filled the room and Booth felt paralyzed for a second.

_What was he doing?_

_Why wasn't he there with the people he loved more than anyone else in the world?_

Nostalgia hit him hard. Before he went to Afghanistan, he and Parker used to spend a lot of weekends there in the pool with Brennan. The woman was a bit reluctant at first. Workaholic as she was, she claimed to have a lot of paperwork to do and that she also didn't want to spoil the time he had with his son. After a lot of insistence and a lot of Booth guys' charming smiles, she ended up agreeing, and they had so much fun together at the pool that it became almost a routine to go to her house whenever he had Parker.

Of course, it all changed once she rejected his suggestion of them taking their relationship to the next level, followed by their departure to foreign countries and then by his commitment to Hannah.

"_No_! No tickling!" Parker giggled. "_No tickling! Not fair! Not fait_!"

"That's what you get for cheating! No cheating! _No cheating_!" Brennan replied, laughing as much as the little boy. "Will you ever cheat again on the game?"

"No!" _Laughs._

"Promise?"

"I promise! I promise!" He squealed. "No more cheating! No more cheating!"

"Okay, then I forgive you." His partner let go of his boy, but the laughs kept going for a few more seconds.

_Hannah._

Of course his boy wasn't fond of the idea of meeting her and_ liking_ her. _How could he when she meant he wouldn't be able to have his friend Bones anymore?_

It was obvious Parker and Brennan loved each other and, more than that, they did something so amazing that Booth cursed himself for keeping them apart for so long: they made each other happy.

His son was an easy kid, happy by nature.

_But not Bones. _

Brennan had been through a lot during her life and she realized that building up walls around her heart and not letting herself go by the moment was a way to protect herself from more wounds.

For someone who for many years claimed she didn't want to have kids and not knowing how to deal with them, she was more than amazing with Parker. The boy loved her and she didn't mind letting herself go and have fun when she was with him. She did silly stuff like doing a cannonball in the pool just for the fun of it.

It was then that it hit him.

Even though Parker bonded well with Hannah, he'd never love her the way he loved Brennan – for heaven's sake,_ would he? – _Because somehow, his partner became almost a second mother to him. When they started their partnership, his son was merely a toddler, and since he had no serious girlfriend till this moment and his friendship with Brennan just grew stronger as time went by, she was a constant presence in the boy's life. She'd always help him with his homework and school projects, she'd accompany Booth to his soccer practices, she'd have dinner and lunch with them –that when she didn't _cook_ it herself, she'd go with them to the zoo on Sundays, and to the park and ice-skating and bowling. She'd even once in a while go with them to watch a new animated feature at the movies.

He sighed and closed his eyes when the pain of realization shot though his body.

Parker was right.

_Brennan_ was_ his girlfriend._

Because although they didn't kiss or made love – not that he wouldn't like that – they did everything a couple in love did. And somehow, he believed he had even more than most of couples had in each other: friendship, trust and loyalty.

His thoughts were pushed away when he realized his son expression changed suddenly from pure joy to utter sadness, right before he threw his arms around Brennan and hugged her tightly.

"What's wrong?" He could hear the concern in her voice as she hugged him back.

"I really missed you _so much_, Bones." Parker whimpered, still holding her. Booth's heart sank.

"I missed you too, Parker." He noticed her voice was about to crack and again felt guilt in every bone of his body.

He'd been _so freaking stupid._

By his own, selfish motives, he'd been hurting two people he loved. Not to mention himself and his current girlfriend, who did nothing but fall in love with a messed up guy. Hannah was great, perfect even, but even though everyone's dreams seemed to be to achieve perfectness in life, Booth realized perfection wasn't really perfect. Life without challenge and ups and downs wasn't life.

And although Hannah was so awesome, they'd never truly connected. Now thinking about it, he couldn't remember to have even one heart to heart conversation with her. Whenever whatever they were talking about started to get serious, they'd end up the conversation and go to bed, because having sex was much more fun than talking about issues.

He missed the talking. He missed hearing Brennan's thoughtful insights in whatever they were discussing. He missed hearing her truthful words, the words that sometimes hurt– no one wants to hear someone talking about their defects – but that would always save him and make him feel better afterwards.

He missed their late talks late at night. He missed their bickering. He missed their thai takeouts. _Damn it,_ he even missed them doing paperwork together, something they haven't done since they came back.

But most of all, he missed _her_.

_His Bones._

Witnessing his son and his partner made him realize they are his _family_, and instead of giving up, he should_ fight_ for them. He'd been a coward before, lowering his head and walking away when he confronted the first little bump in the road.

He should grow a set of balls and stop acting like stupid teenager who held a grudge because the girl he had a crush on turned him down.

That woman there holding his son so motherly was the woman who allowed him to know her better than anyone. More than that, that was the woman who knew _him_ better than anyone.

_The woman he loved._

Admitting that to himself made him feel lighter, like things were finally back to where they should be.

It might take a long time till he deserved her again, but this time he would make things right.

Booth was telling himself incentive words when he saw his son finally letting go of Brennan.

"Bones…" _Oh… why did he feel what would come after that wouldn't be exactly what he'd call good?_ "Why don't you have kids?"

_Oh, crap._

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**I know, I know, it's not fair to stop there **_**again.**_

**It's not like I**_** like**_** to torture you, but I think this chapter has to end in there, so, **_**pu-lee-zee **_**(*puts on Parker's kitten face*) hit the blue button below and let me know what you thought about this one and I promise I'll update as soon as I can!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks so much for all the reviews! =D**

**I'm sorry this isn't a very long update, but like I said, I have no spare time and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging in there waiting forever for an update, so, here it goes. :)

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She was frozen for awhile, completely taken by surprise.

"I- I don't know." The internationally famous Dr. Temperance Brennan couldn't think of anything better to say, because as soon as she heard the question, her mind immediately ran back to the baby that never got to exist. The baby she asked Booth to give her and had to let go because of his brain surgery. They never talked about it again after he woke up all confused and with memory lapses. Now, her having his baby couldn't be as far from happening. Booth was obviously happy with the new life he had with Hannah and sure as hell wouldn't be so open to the idea of letting her use his sperm donation. And, honestly, she couldn't see herself having anyone else's child. "I've always thought I'd never had kids. I've always thought I wasn't good with them."

"But you are great!" Parker said right away, like what she just said was a huge absurd. "You're the funniest person I know and you know everything."

She couldn't hide a smile. "Thank you. Although, I don't really know _everything_."

"Oh, yes." He agreed as he remembered something. "I forgot you don't know about anyone famous or anything that is on Disney Channel besides the stuff I made you watch with me. But I'm sure you'd be the best mom, Bones. Just like my mom." He assured her. "I think you should have a baby."

A few meters away, hiding behind the door, Booth wanted to cover his son's mouth with his hand and take him away, but he was just way too curious to see where that conversation was going that he couldn't move his feet.

"There's- there's a lot more than only desirability of an offspring involved when you decide to have a kid, Parker." She said patiently, and Booth caught a hint of sadness in her voice. "A person must be ready to make that change in her life, and a kid is a very important thing. A child needs love, support and patience. And, now I understand, a child deserves a family. If I bring a baby to this world, I want to give him or her the best, and right now, I can't give it."

"Why not?" The boy crinkled his face. "You're cool, and you're the smartest people in the world and you have a lot of patience to teach me with my homework, even when I'm stupid and you have to explain to me a zillion times."

"You're not stupid. You're a very bright boy."

"Also," He added as he remembered, ignoring her statement. "You have this awesome pool. I can't see why you can't have a baby."

She sighed. How was she supposed to make a nine-year-old understand the other million complications that surrounded that topic? She still craved for a baby, a sweet kid, just like him. But she missed her chance of making things work with the only man she wanted to have a child with the year before. And now he'd move on and would probably start a new family soon with his girlfriend.

"A child needs a father, Parker." She tried to hold the unshed tears that covered her eyes. It wasn't supposed to hurt that much, knowing that she would never have a baby. _She was the one who always said she didn't want kids, right? _This was the life she'd always expected to live: unmarried, without children and very successful in her job. Then why did she want to run and hide in the corner of a dark room, curled up like a ball? "I can't give my baby that."

"You can ask my dad." Parker suggested, suddenly very hopeful, and like it was just as simple as that. Just as simple as she thought it would be when she asked him for his sperm a couple of years ago. "He's the best dad in the world, I promise." Excitement was growing inside him as he thought of the possibilities. "He always said he wanted to have more kids, but Hannah doesn't want to have kids, and you do, but you don't have a man to be your kid's father, so Dad can be. And then I can finally get a brother." He continued. "Or sister. I'd rather a brother, but if you can't make a boy, a sister will be fine. I mean, as long as she's as cool as you are. I don't want an annoying little brat as a sister." He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.

Brennan was so surprised by something that he said, that she forgot his request for a sibling for a moment.

"Hannah doesn't want to have children?" She asked surprised.

"Nuh-uh." Parker shook his head, splashing water as he did it. "She told me there are already way too many children in the world."

"But Booth wants to have more children." Brennan said, almost to herself. "He never admitted it, but it's obvious he wants to get married and have a family. He loves being a father."

"I know, that's why I'm asking you to have my dad's baby, because then everybody would be happy. You can have your baby, and my dad can have another kid, Hannah can stay baby-less and I can get a brother!" Parker shot his best million-watts-smile. "Everybody would be happy. Come on, Bones, please have my dad's baby. I don't know exactly how babies are made, but I heard grownups have a lot of fun trying…"

Seeing Brennan's face flushing as it never did before and realizing how far he let that conversation go, Booth decided it was time to announce his presence.

He opened the door suddenly – making Brennan hop inside the pool surprised - and pretended he just arrived there.

"There you are!" He opened a smile just as bright as Parker's. He was such a good actor. "I've been knocking on your door for about ten minutes."

"Dad!" Parker exclaimed disappointed. "I thought you'd only come back later."

"Whoa, it's good to see that my son is_ so_ excited to see me." He said sarcastically.

"Sorry." Parker apologized. "But it's just that I missed Bones so much and we are having so much fun. I don't want to go home." He pouted.

"My meeting ended earlier than I expected." Booth explained. "I thought that maybe you'd like to go to the movies or something."

"Can't we stay here and watch a movie?" He suggested. "Bones has a gazillion channels on her TV and she is making my favorite mac and cheese and she told me she'd tell me her secret ingredient tonight." Parker told his father. "Can you believe it? Her _secret_ ingredient." His eyes grew wider. "But I had to promise her I' wouldn't tell anyone." He kept talking and turned to look at his favorite anthropologist. "Bones, can Dad have dinner with us?"

Brennan, who until that moment didn't opened her mouth since Booth arrived, suddenly became very self-conscious of her body, covered only by the bikini she had bought at a cute store in Indonesia, as her partner's eyes lied on her cleavage, while his son waited for an answer.

"Yes, sure." She answered, her throat dry, completely in contrast with her very wet body. "I mean, if you want to." She said to Booth, but avoided his eyes.

She thought about calling him as asshole for staring at her like that when he was committed to another woman, but she remembered that even though he was Booth, the king of the hopeless romantics, he was still a guy. And she knew she had a nice body. She'd been spending even more time at the gym lately, since her spare time wasn't spent with him anymore, so, she should feel flattered that at least her hard work was being recognized.

_Even if she wasn't working out to look better._

_Even if the guy staring at her like that only made her heart ache doing so, because she knew it would never be more than a stare. _

"Great. I wouldn't miss your famous mac and cheese for nothing in this world." He shot her his patented charming smile, the one he used to reserve just for her, and she decided not to remember him that he'd been missing it for almost a year already.

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**Who wants to see some cuteness in the next chapter? ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everybody! If you still remember this story, I want to apologize for taking soooo long to update. But I was working 13 hours a day till Christmas Eve, which happens to also be my birthday (yeah, I know, it sucks), which means I didn't have a second to write. And then with Christmas and everything, I just got this huge writer's block and couldn't write an update to save my life. LOL**

**I hope this update won't be a disappointment. =/

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Brennan and Parker were at the kitchen when he came back from the supermarket, after getting some supplies for the 'super awesome' dinner they were making that night, in Parker words.

She was wearing an apron, her wavy, naturally dried hair was pulled up on a messy ponytail and her face was fresh from makeup. Booth realized he'd never get over how beautiful she was, especially at that moment, when she was explaining something to his son while the boy threw the ingredients she passed him into the pan. Parker smiled amazed, probably loving the fact that she let him actually help, differently from most of the people, who liked to treat him like he was useless and careless just because he was young.

Booth's heart started pounding as that feeling of longing took over him again.

_It felt so natural. _

Spending that afternoon with his partner and his son and then cook dinner and maybe watch a movie later. They've been doing that for years and until now, he'd never realized how much they looked like a family. How amazing it felt to be with Bones and Parker. How great his partner would be as a mother. And most of all, how_ wrong_ he was to give up on her so fast. At that moment, he realized all he needed in his life was in that room and more than ever he knew what he had to do once he got home.

He smiled and helped himself into the kitchen carrying the bags from the supermarket.

"It smells good." He commented, leaving the bags on counter.

"Dad!" His son grinned when he noticed he was back, a huge wood spoon in his hand. "Bones let me help her with the cooking!" He shook the spoon as to prove his point.

"I can see it, bub." He grinned back, loving his little boy excitement and stroking his cheeks to clean some of the flour that got stuck on it.

"She told me I'm really good." Parker added proudly.

"I bet you are."

"He's a quick learner." Brennan agreed.

"What are you guys doing? I'm starving!" Booth licked his lips and tried to peek what they were cooking.

"You can't see it yet, Dad!" Parker shoved him away. "It's a surprise. Go set the table and wait. Bones and I are almost finished here, you gotta do something too."

"Hey! Who went out to get supplies, uh?" Booth joked and chuckled when Brennan and Parker shot him identical stares that told him to stop joking and getting things done. "Okay, okay. I'll let you and Bones finish here. I'm dying to see what you two are cooking..."

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"Gotta admit it, this was the best meal I've had in a _very_ long time." Booth grinned as he sat back on his chair, feeling completely satisfied.

"Bones is an excellent cook, Dad, and I'm almost just as good." Parker said proudly.

"It doesn't do any bad learning from the best, does it?" Booth chuckled and winked at Brennan, loving the familiarity of the dinner.

"Thank you." She blushed flattered. She loved how much both of them enjoyed her dishes. "It was just an ordinary meal, though. I doubt my culinary skills could be measure by just Mac and cheese. Anyone is capable of doing a simple dish like this."

"Anyone can cook a dish like this? You gotta be kidding me, Bones, your apple pie was even better than the Diner's!" He flashed her his best smile. "I wasn't joking when I said this is the best meal I've had in a long time." Booth said. "In fact, I can even dare to say this is the best meal I've _ever_ had."

"You are exaggerating." The corners of her lips curved up.

"No, Bones. He's right. Hannah_ sucks_ as a cook." Parker joined his father, opening his eyes widely to express how bad of a cook his father's girlfriend was. "Last time she tried something in the kitchen, she burnt the popcorn and the apartment stank for the whole weekend. Dad said she was _prohibited_ to even boil water after that."

"There's no way you can mistake boiling water." Brennan furrowed her brows. "I mean, it's just… boiling."

"Oh, with Hannah, you'd never know…" Booth chuckled ironically.

"And Dad is not that big of a cook either…" Parker added.

"Hey! You love my sandwiches!"

"Ok, fine, he makes great sandwiches. And maybe some barbecue. But that's it." Parker concluded. Looking at his now empty plate, he decided it was time for their next activity that night. "I'm done." He stood up and took off his plate, ready to take it to the kitchen. "Can we watch the movie now?"

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"Disney Channel!" Parker announced as they sat on Brennan's couch. The little boy was strategically positioned between his father and Bones. "They always have great movies on Saturday nights. Let's see what's on tonight." He took the remote control and started searching for his favorite channel.

"He's quite an alpha male." Brennan whispered to her partner. "And he's barely 10."

"My boy's knows what he wants, Bones." Booth grinned. "Strong personality."

"_Oh, no_!" Parker grimaced when he realized what movie was on.

"What's that?" Brennan asked curious.

"It's _Enchanted_." He crinkled his nose. "It's a _girl's_ movie."

"Well, I'm a girl and it seems quite sweet." She said watching as Giselle, in her animated form, sang with her animal friends. "I enjoy watching animated features despite the fact they are completely unrealistic."

"It's animation, Bones. It's supposed to be unrealistic." Booth said and she just shrugged.

"But they turn into humans! Mom made me watch this. She loooooves this movie 'cause she loves the guy who plays the good guy because he's on_ Grey's Anatomy_." Parker rolled his eyes. "She says he's dreamy." He stuck out his tongue.

"Aw, I want to watch this movie." Booth furrowed his brows at Brennan's super girly reaction. "_What?_" She asked when she noticed his amused expression.

"Nothing." He hid a laugh. "What do you think about us letting Bones' choose the movie tonight, bub? She deserves that after making us such a great dinner…"

"But, Dad. They _sing_ in this movie!" Parker whined.

"It's a_ musical_?" Booth tried to hide his disgust.

"Yeah! They sing and dance around Central Park!" Parker looked sheepish at his father, regretting with all his soul suggesting Disney Channel.

"Oh! I _love_ musicals! When I was young, I used to watch Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music with my father…"

The excitement was so obvious on her face that neither of the Booths had the guts to make her watch another movie.

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"I was not _that _bad after all." Booth commented as Carrie Underwood started screaming _Ever Ever After_ lyrics. "The chipmunk was quite funny."

"Yes, he was." Parker agreed. "Pip was the best about that movie."

"Your mother was right, Parker. The guy who played Robert was quite handsome." Brennan said thoughtfully. "Although his features wasn't very symmetrical, he was very charming."

"I can't believe it, Bones." Booth let out a laugh a bit indignant. "You make us watch this entire movie and that's your comment about it?"

"It was just an observation, Booth." She smiled. "I liked the movie. Even though it was completely surreal, I have to admit sometimes it's nice to get out of reality for a while."

Her smile was so sweet that Booth couldn't help comparing her to the adorable Giselle. Like the princess in the Disney movie, his partner was quirky, cute and had that enchanting naivety in her eyes that made his heart swell.

"Did you see what I meant the other day, Dad?" Parker asked suddenly as something hit him.

"What, bub?"

"Remember when I told you about the guy and the girl in Mom's movies?" The little boy said and his father nodded, not sure if he wanted to see where that was going. "So, _Enchanted _is a _perfect _example of that. The guy had a nice girlfriend and a daughter. His daughter liked his girlfriend, but she liked Giselle much better. Just like me, 'cause I like Bones _much_ better than Hannah." He realized what he said and added quickly. "But of course I'm a boy, not a girl like Morgan. But Giselle is cool like Bones and in the end, the guy ended up with Giselle, 'cause she was his '_true love'_." He crinkled his forehead, as if those words were a bit of nonsense. "See? It's just like you, Bones and Hannah. Hannah is your nice girlfriend, but we all know _Bones _is your true love."

Booth thanked God for not being drinking or eating anything at the moment because, otherwise, he would have choked. _What the hell did his son just said? And did he really have to draw a parallel between his life and a Disney Fairy Tale movie?_

He didn't dare to look at Brennan, but he could see she was just as uncomfortable as he was.

"Dad?" Parker asked confused. "Bones?" He looked from his father to the woman sitting next to him. "Why are your cheeks pink?"

None of them could think of anything to say, so they said nothing. The boy was getting frustrated at the silence when a lightning stroke startling them and it began to rain pretty hard outside.

"Shit." Booth murmured under his breath. Just all he needed: a thunderstorm keeping him locked at Brennan's apartment, right after his son announced to whoever wanted to hear that she was his true love.

She stood up and walked to the window to check how bad it was raining.

"I don't think it's safe for you to drive under the storm." She frowned as she looked outside the window. "I'm afraid you'll have to spend the night here." She swallowed dryly, wondering how it would be like to spend an entire night with Booth.

"Yay!" The blonde little boy cheered and snapped her back to reality. "_Slumber Party_!"

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**I don't know about where you live, but here Enchanted is on**_** all**_** the time on Disney Channel. And oh, I love that cute movie. LOL**

**Happy New Year, everyone!**

**I'd love if you clicked the button below and let me know you're still with me here! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much for the wishes of belated birthday and happy New Year! =D**

**I've been struck by a sudden inspiration wave, so, let's enjoy it. :)**

**By the way, sorry in advance for the mistakes you might find (more than usual). I only proof-readed it once.**

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"I found this." Brennan entered the leaving room holding a pile of clothing, her cheeks flushed. When Booth packed his son's things to spend the day with her, he remembered to put a pajama set in case of an emergency came. He never thought _he _would have to spend the night at her apartment, so, of course, there wasn't anything for him there and since his FBI suit wasn't the most comfortable piece of clothing in the world, he was wondering if he'd have to sleep in that when she showed up with what seemed to be his old pair of shorts and a white cotton t-shirt. "You forgot them here last year."

It had been a bit less than a year ago and he had completely forgotten about it. But now that she looked at him, all the memories of that night came back to him like a flash. It was during the Gravedigger trial and he went to her house to give her updates on the case. She was looking pale and he got immediately worried. She confessed to him that she had nightmares and after he assured her Heather Taffet would never get the better of her and gave her a hug, she asked him in that lost little girl voice of hers if he could spend the night there. Of course, he was taken aback for a while. Just a couple of weeks before she had rejected his offer of a real relationship and he knew she didn't mean that in a sexual way, just as a friend who needed another's support, so, he had no way of turning her down on that.

He'd come back to his home to take spare clothes and came back to her apartment. He took the guest room, but in the middle of the night he woke up with the sound of her screams and had to wake her up from a nightmare. She clung on him, holding him tightly as if he'd disappear if she let him go. He tried to let go of her embrace after a while, but she hugged him even tighter and asked him to please don't go. After that, he knew there was no way he would come back to the other bedroom. She fell asleep in his arms and didn't wake up again until the next morning. Having her in his arms felt perfect to him. Watching her sleep peacefully _because _of his presence was so good that his heart ached for all the things he wish he could have but knew were completely out of reach.

Booth pretended he was asleep when she woke up, her head lying on his chest. It was a way to prevent her from any embarrassment she might feel if she thought he was awake and had to explain her weakness the previous night. He wanted to be there every night for her, to make all her bad dreams go away, but he knew that wasn't what she wanted. He respected that.

They never talked about that night again and, less than a month later, they were at the airport waving goodbye. He completely forgot about leaving his clothes there and after he came back from Afghanistan with another woman, Brennan probably felt he'd forgotten about them and the price of the whole discomfort that would be brought by her giving them back to him would be much higher than a new pajama set.

Besides, it was not like he _needed_ sleepwear now that he was sharing a bedroom with his girlfriend, who he claimed to love beyond reason.

But, under tonight's circumstances, she had no other option than to give them back to him.

Not that she'd ever admit sleeping in his t-shirt once in a while. _Just once in a while…_ like whenever she was feeling lonely, which happened a lot lately, but she'd never let anyone know that either.

"Thanks, Bones." He took it from her, careful not to touch her hands as she passed him the pile. Looking in her eyes, he realized it would be better to not start a whole conversation remembering how the clothes got there. He knew more than ever that he loved her and that was the undeniable truth, no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, but he needed to end things with Hannah before starting to try again with Bones. Also, he had to be really sure this time she'd be ready when he put his heart out on the line again. He wasn't certain it would survive another rejection.

"The room is already set for you. Call me if you need anything." She said heading to her bedroom, eager to get away of his presence. "Goodnight." She smiled slightly at him and his son.

"Good night, Bones." Parker wrapped his arms around her in a hug and Booth wish he would do the same. "I hope you have sweet dreams."

She smiled and thanked him, wishing the same before looking at his father.

He locked his eyes with hers, that way they used to do, like they could see each other souls for a brief moment. "Good night, Bones."

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She was lying completely awake, thinking about that afternoon and everything Parker said when she heard her door opening and a small figure tiptoed inside her room.

"Bones?" She heard the little whisper.

"Parker?" She sat down on her bed. "What are you doing awake?"

"'Can't sleep." Parker rubbed his eyes sleepy with his free hand, the other one holding a pillow. "Dad's snoring like a pig." He whined.

Her brows furrowed in concern. It wasn't like Booth to snore. Was he starting to get sick? It wouldn't be that big of a surprise with the constant weather change.

"You want to sleep here with me?" Brennan asked uncertain.

"Can I?" He grinned hopeful.

"Yeah, sure. It's a huge bed." She smiled and patted her king sized bed.

Parker quickly walked towards the bed and hopped in, lying next to her. "Thanks, Bones."

"You're welcome." She made sure he was covered and turned to the other side, trying not to remember how it was like when another Booth was sleeping there, in that same spot. "Good night, Parker."

"Good night, Bones."

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He woke up in the middle of the night with his heart beating fast inside his chest.

A _nightmare_.

It'd only been a nightmare.

He'd seen himself in the future and he was old an alone, regretting not fighting for the woman he loved, regretting being a coward when he still had the chance to make things right. Hannah had left him, tired of trying to get the love of a man who didn't have the heart available anymore. Brennan had left the country, unable to keep watching him with someone else. She'd ended up finding another man, with whom she got married and had two boys. Parker eventually got married and moved to California and would call him every other week. But all in all, he was alone.

Taking that little glimpse at what his future probably would be like if he didn't change things right now left him completely awake and worried. It took him a while to realize where he was and that his son was not lying next to him anymore.

He glanced at the watch and saw it was nearly three am. Getting up, he wondered where Parker would be.

Rubbing his face, he walked to Brennan's room. The door was half opened and he popped his head inside, hoping she'd be asleep. But when he looked inside the room, there was only one tiny body in the huge bed. He smiled. What was his son doing in his partner's bed?

And now thinking about it, _where was she?_

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**Sorry for the short update and for leaving it in a cliffhanger, but I didn't want to leave you waiting for so long and I promise the next chapter will come up pretty soon if you ask me nicely. ;)**

**And… spoiler… it will be intense!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Since I like to keep my promises… here it is… :)**

**I hope you'll like it!

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The living room was dark, but not dark enough to hide the silhouette of the woman sitting on the couch. She had his back turned to him, so he took the time to appreciate the view. Booth didn't have many opportunities to watch his partner, especially in a private moment like that. He knew he should feel bad about it – yeah, he felt a bit like a stalker staring at her when she wasn't looking - but he couldn't help it.

From what he could see, she was staring at the window as the rain kept falling outside and had a cup in her hands. _Tea. _He bet everything it was tea.

"What is my son doing in your bed?" He decided it was a good way to announce his presence.

She jumped startled, almost spilling hot tea over her body and he regretted not being more careful. He'd hate himself if she got hurt because of him. _Physically _hurt, because something told him he'd been hurting her pretty bad lately.

It took her a moment to recover, taking in the fact they were both in their sleepwear and alone in her living room.

"He said he couldn't sleep because you were snoring like a pig." Her voice was serious, but he could see on her face that it amused her.

"I don't snore." He affirmed, trying not to smile as he approached the couch.

"You slept quite silently in the occasions we shared a bedroom, but it's not unusual to snore every once in a while. The constant change in the weather could make your body immunity decrease and therefore you could get a cold. The increased production of mucus would obstruct the nasal passageway, impeding air movement while breathing during sleeping, resulting in snoring. " She said before she could think and caught her bottom lip between her teeth when she realized what she said.

She didn't want to think about the many occasions she shared a bedroom – and a bed – with him. Not now. Not when they've been treating each other with more professionalism than friendship than ever. She didn't want to think about the night they spent in Vegas while going undercover as Roxy and Tony. Or when he slept at her apartment when she was too sad about Zack being Gormogon's apprentice. Or the tiny _tiny_ bed in the circus trailer. Or the unbearably long nights she spent at his bedside when he was in a coma. And less than anything, the night she slept in his arms during the Gravedigger's case.

He noticed her flushed face and didn't say anything, just sank down on the couch next to her, not waiting for an invitation. She tried not to look at his half-covered body.

"Having trouble falling asleep?" He asked, not looking at her. He noticed she was wearing a nightgown, way too beautiful for her own good. It wasn't exactly the sexy kind of nightgown, it was made of pale pink silk, ended below her knees and had a v-neck, but it shaped her body perfectly.

She didn't answer him right away and took another sip of her tea before looking at him.

"I haven't had a good night of sleep in a long time." She admitted, suddenly missing those times where she could talk about anything with him.

He was surprised by her words.

"Me neither."

Brennan let out a sad laugh.

"Of course. You're a very strong and active man and Hannah is young and healthy, I'm certain you don't spend your nights sleeping."

He didn't expect her to bring that up like that, much less show how much it bothered her. He was shocked by the sadness in her voice and when he saw the lonely tear running down her cheek, he lost it. He knew out of the blue that he couldn't wait anymore. He couldn't pretend anymore. He couldn't lie anymore. Not when she finally showed signs that she cared. That she wasn't really happy with his new relationship.

"Bones…" He reached out to touch her arm, but she dodged away, as if his fingers were made of fire and would burn her skin.

"I'm sorry." She closed her eyes as if she had just realized what she'd said. "I shouldn't have said that. It was very inappropriate, I apologize. I have nothing to do with your sex life."

She was about to stand up from the couch when he grabbed her by the wrist and made her sit again, this time incredibly close to him. She was stunned for a moment, his hand still wrapping her wrist and their eyes locked in surprise. He took his hand away from her wrist and brought it up to her face, stroking her cheeks tenderly with his thumb. She closed her eyes, afraid of breaking down in front of him.

"I'm tired." He said in a sigh, feeling his chest tightening. "I'm so tired, Bones."

She opened her eyes confused, not quite knowing what he meant with that. So, he explained:

"I'm tired of pretending. I'm tired of trying to make myself believe I'm happy when in reality, I couldn't be more far away from it. I'm tired of trying to move on when I know I'll never to able to love someone the way I love you." He felt her quivering, but he wouldn't let her run away now. She'd listen to him. "That's right. I love you." He said looking inside her eyes so she knew he really meant every word of it. "I know I've been being a terrible friend lately, and claiming to love someone else way too many times to convince myself and people around me of it. It's easy to say those three little words when you don't really mean them, you know?" He chuckled sadly. "God knows how many times I tried to tell you how much I loved you. But I was a coward. I was afraid that letting you know how I felt about you would make me lose you forever. I tried once, you know, right after you came back from Guatemala and I woke up from my coma. I tried, but you looked at me so scared that I had to make you believe I meant it only in a professional way." She gulped, and he knew she was trying to think about something to say, something to draw them apart again, but now that he started, he wouldn't let her stop him saying everything that had been inside him for so long. "But the truth is, Bones, I've loved you for so long. Probably since the beginning and I can't stand fighting against it anymore. It's not fair. These past months… they've been some of the worst of my life."

"It doesn't seem like that. You appear to be quite happy with Hannah." She said bitterly.

He laughed, even though he wanted to cry. "You have no idea how it is to be with someone when you love another woman, but knowing you'll never have your chance with her. I won't lie. I was happy at the beginning. Hannah was fun and easy and you weren't around. It wasn't that hard to forget what I'm missing when I couldn't see you. And you didn't try to contact me even once while we were away, so I was angry at you. I was angry and worried and I needed something that would help me forget how much my heart ached. Forget how much I missed you. Forget how much I loved you. Forget that you'd never feel the same way about me."

He couldn't hold his tears anymore and didn't bother wiping them away when they started to fall.

"Hannah was like a breath of fresh air, and I lived in a fantasy happy little world for about a month, that was, until we came back." He sat back in the couch. "Ever since we came back and Hannah decided to come too, it's been like I'm living in an alternative reality. I can't let myself treat you like I always did because it hurts so much, Bones, and it messes with my fake happy life, it makes it harder to believe. I can't be around the squints, because it kills me to see that Angela and Hodgins were able to make things work between them and we didn't even have the change to try."

"Booth…"

"No, I have to finish." He looked at her again. "I'm not happy, Bones. And this crap we are living right now is not a life and it's not fair. Not to me, not to you, not to Hannah. I know you aren't happy either. Don't you dare to lie to me."

"I'm not happy." She admitted almost in a whisper. Then, she remembered she wasn't the only one to blame about their situation. "I'm not happy with you."

The anger in her eyes as she looked at him made him withdraw his hand.

"You wanted to give us a try, Booth. After five years building a strong partnership and friendship, you wanted to risk it adding romance. You took a gamble, not caring about the consequences it might had in our lives. Not caring about what would happen if it didn't work."

"You didn't even _want_ to try!" He cried. "There was no way of knowing it wouldn't work if we didn't even try."

"Our partnership might not mean as much to you, Booth, but it was the only constancy in my life. No matter what happened, I knew I had you to count on. But you wanted to change it, you wanted to change the only thing in my life that was a certainty. I was scared." She hated that she started to weep. She should be strong. "I was scared I would mess up with everything. I'm terrible at relationships and I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. I was scared I would never be enough for you."

"Bones…" His heart was beating fast and he felt like he needed to say something before he lost her forever. "Bones, you've always been enough for me."

"I told you I couldn't change and you didn't say anything." She bit her lip. "You looked at me so disappointed when I said that."

"Because I couldn't believe in what you were saying." He took her hands. "Bones, I never wanted you to change. I've always thought you were perfect just the way you are. My beautiful, smart, adorable partner, who would embarrass me almost just as much as she'd made me laugh. My best friend, the person who understood me without judging me. The person I could trust with my life, because I knew she'd die before she'd betray me. The woman with a heart bigger than she gave herself credit for."

"But you didn't give me time!" She sobbed. "I said I couldn't change and the next thing I hear is you saying you'd have move on. How am I supposed to believe we could work together as a couple when you give up at the first opportunity?"

"Bones, I-"

She shook her head telling him now it was her turn to speak.

"I needed time to think, Booth. You know better than anyone that I don't do things on impulse. I needed to think. And I couldn't think here. We weren't comfortable with each other and my worst nightmare was coming true." She explained. "So I thought that if we spent a little time apart, we could think and make things work when we'd come back. I thought a lot while in Indonesia. _About us_." She said it so lowly he almost didn't hear. "I came to realize I wasn't my best alone. I wasn't my best when I didn't have you by my side. When I didn't have you to discuss something. I wanted to talk to you about all that when we came back, but…"

"But I came back with Hannah." The knot on his throat was so big he was having trouble breathing. _What had he done?_

Brennan nodded.

"She's a great woman, Booth." She said sadly.

"She is." He agreed. "But she's not you, Bones. She's not you and she'll never be. She's the woman who is the closest to perfection a guy could ask for, but she'll never reach my standard. You ruined me for every other woman, Bones. You ruined me because you took my heart away and you never gave it back to me."

"I did no such thing." She furrowed her eyebrows. "You'd be dead if I took your heart away, Booth."

He chuckled._ That was his Bones._

"I am. Mostly." He smiled sadly. "Parker was right, Bones. He is nine years old and even he could see you're the one I love."

"How am I supposed to believe you love me when I fear you'll run the first time you notice I'm not what you expected?" She let her tears fall loosely.

"I won't." He cupped her face. "I promise, Bones. I know everything about you. I've seen your best and your worst. I love you and once you let me show how much I love you, I will never let you go. We have to stop running away from our feelings."

"But what about Hannah?" She asked. "She's still your girlfriend, Booth."

"I'll break up with her first thing tomorrow." He confessed. "It won't be that easy, she actually moved here to be with me, but things between us never really got more than physical. My heart was already taken and she was never the one to settle down. I believe our relationship had an expiration date since the beginning."

"I like her." She confessed.

"I know, she'll understand. I think she'd probably already realized everything by now."

"I missed you." She closed her eyes and he lost it. The next thing he knew, he was holding her tightly in his arms. She hugged him back.

"I missed you too, Bones." He kissed the top of her head. "More than you can even imagine. But I promise it's over now. From now on, there will be no more hiding, no more fear, no more unspoken words. We are going to make this work and I'll never let you run away from me again."

"I don't want to run away anymore." She murmured against his chest.

"You have no idea how happy this makes me." He smiled.

Finally, after a very long time, he felt his heart beating again.

_And it didn't hurt._

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**It could be the end, right?**

**Fortunately – or not – it isn't.**

**But don't worry, I don't think this will turn out angst and the next chapter will be pure cuteness. I've already started working on it.**

**Wanna help my inspiration?**

**Reviews are the best thing to do that! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

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She opened her closet and stared at the thousands of clothes hanging on the hangers, none of them exactly what she wanted to wear. It was highly ironic how she felt she had nothing to wear when she had a wardrobe larger than most of people.

But tonight was a special occasion. It was okay to feel a little anxious.

_Right?_

It had been almost two months since Parker found them sleeping in each others' arms in her couch, the same amount of time since Booth broke up with Hannah and she went back to Afghanistan. They'd never talked about their relationship again after that night in her living room, Booth said it would be better if they let things work naturally and if they took things slowly.

They've been acting like the good old days since then. Bickering, laughing, sharing Thai food late at night while doing paperwork. There was no kiss or any other word about their future as a couple since then. But tonight was Valentine's Day and Booth asked her out on a date. Their _first_ date.

Of course, she'd been out with him more times than she could remember – now that she thought about it, they pretty much did all the programs couples did, such as having dinner together, watching a movie at home late at night, going to the theater, work parties, friend's parties, amusement parks, soccer games, bowling alley… and the list went on and on, but she never went anywhere as his _date_. Despite their couple-y hang outs, she was always his partner. Just his partner. She had no idea what she would wear and his call earlier that day asking her to wear something comfortable confused her even more.

_Weren't you supposed to dress up when you go out on dates?_

Leave it to Booth to make things complicated.

Convincing herself it was Booth and he'd already seen her in pretty much everything, she picked her comfortable pair of jeans – that one who fitted her perfectly, of course – and an indigo shirt, because she remembered he'd told her once that he liked when she wore blue because it made her eyes stand out.

Smiling to herself, she realized how nice it was to wear something so casual for a date. It made her feel like differently from most of her previous dates, Booth was more interested in her as a person than in her body. And that idea made her love him even more.

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She heard the knock on her door at eight sharp. Taking a last look at the mirror, she swallowed and tried to wave away that uncomfortable but at the same time delicious feeling of having butterflies in her stomach.

"Hi." Brennan greeted him shyly. He was handsome. More than handsome. He was gorgeous. Like her, he was wearing casual clothes, which made him even more attractive to her eyes. Not that she didn't find him incredible hot in his suits, but she saw him in them almost in a daily basis, so seeing him wearing a pair of jeans and a nice green t-shirt was pretty nice.

He had a bouquet of daffodils in his hand and the most adorable smile dancing in his face. It was a myth that a person's intentions and desires could be seen in the eyes, but looking at his eyes at that moment, Brennan couldn't help seeing a lot of love and warmth.

She was smiling before she could stop herself.

"You're such a hopeless romantic, Booth." She was teasing him, of course, but the way she looked at him let him know that was another thing she loved about him.

"Seven years, Bones." He smiled wider and passed her the flowers. "Seven years. I gotta make it right now that I finally got my chance."

His smile was so sweet that she had to fight the urge to throw her arms around him and kiss him until both of them were out of breathe. But she held herself back. She wanted their date and she doubt somehow that they'd even get out of her apartment if they started kissing.

"I loved them." She smelled the flowers and looked up at him. "Thanks."

He just nodded his head, glad that she liked the flowers. They held their gazes for a few seconds trying to figure out what to do next when he finally found the words to speak again.

"And tell you what: you better be ready, because this will be _the _date of the dates. Maybe with a little difference than ordinary dates, but hopefully better than all of them." He winked.

"I'm curious, Booth. If this is going to be 'the date of the dates', why did you tell me to wear something comfortable?" She regarded him curiously. "I think traditionally, people dresses up when they go out on dates. At least Valentine's Day dates."

He smirked. "It's a surprise, Bones."

"But I hate surprises. They usually aren't very delectable." She frowned.

"Oh, but this one will be good." He leaned on her doorframe. "I promise."

She sighed heavily, knowing that was a lost battle.

"So, you're ready?" He asked.

"Yes, I just need to take my purse." She came inside again and was back a few seconds later.

"Let's go."

His hand went to the small of her back as they walked towards his car, parked in her garage.

"Oh, and Bones?" He asked as they approached the SUV.

"What?"

"You look _beautiful_."

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The first surprise of the night was inside the SUV, she found out a minute later when she opened the door and a small body jumped out screaming 'surprise!' and shooting her his adorable mini-Booth smile.

"I was going to drop him off before coming here to pick you up, but the little guy made me come here first, because he just _had_ to see his friend Bones." Booth explained. "But I said he'd have to wait in the car for a minute while I picked you up at your door."

"I could have waited for you down here, Booth." Brennan said. There was no need to leave the boy there.

"Nuh-uh, this is our first date. Following all the date-rules here, Bones, don't forget." He sat at the driver's seat. "Besides, Parker wasn't alone here. He was chatting with Oliver. You know how he loves to talk with him. They were discussing the last Flyers' game when I took the elevator."

Oliver was Brennan's doorman since forever and someone Booth trusted a lot. Since he couldn't take care of her 24/7, he made the guy look out for her while he wasn't there. He knew Oliver would call him whenever he noticed the doctor wasn't looking fine. Booth knew no one knew more about someone's life than their doormen. It was Oliver who usually told him Brennan went to the Jeffersonian in the middle of the night. Or if she took a cab in the opposite direction, which concerned him a little more.

"I told him to go when I saw you two coming." Parker grinned. "I wanted to make a surprise to Bones."

"It was a very pleasant surprise." Brennan grinned back, glad to see her little friend.

"Oliver was telling me they're putting a slider on the pool, how cool is that?" He said excitedly. "Now that Bones is your girlfriend, we can come to the pool more often, right?"

"Whoa." Booth almost chocked with his own saliva. He didn't know what to do first: tell his son that it wasn't cool to invite himself to other people's places or correct him saying Bones wasn't – _at least not yet_ – his girlfriend. He chose the latter, the other option would lead to an awkward conversation he preferred to avoid right now. "Where're your manners, bub? You don't invite yourself to other people's houses. "

"I'm not '_other people'_, Booth." Brennan knitted her eyebrows together. "I'm his friend and I've told him before that he's welcome to come here whenever he wants."

"See, dad? I'm her _friend_." Parker looked at his dad smugly. Then he leaned back on the seat and sighed. "I'm so glad you are his girlfriend now, Bones."

"I'm not his girlfriend." Brennan didn't appreciate lying to children – or anyone else for the matter, unless it was really necessary, so she felt like she should tell him the truth.

Booth clutched his hands on the steering wheel.

"You're not?" Parker raised one eyebrow surprised. "But tonight is Valentine's Day and Dad said he's going out on a date with you. And, he brought you flowers. The guys always bring flowers to their girlfriends in the movies."

Booth made a mental self-note to tell Rebecca to watch less rom-coms with his son.

"We are going on a date, yes, but that doesn't make me his girlfriend." She explained.

"Yet, right?" Parker asked curiously. "Because I know Dad wants you to be his girlfriend. Tonight he wasted half an hour just with his hair before we came to pick you up. He wants you to think he looks good."

"_Parker_!" Booth felt all of his blood running up to his cheek.

The boy ignored his father and kept going. "_Plus_, he put on his best perfume. You know, the one he never let me use 'cause it's just for special occasions."

Booth thanked God when they entered Rebecca's street. He claimed he didn't wear perfume or cologne and there Parker was, telling Brennan how he even spilled perfume in himself tonight. _Great._

Brennan giggled at his adorable embarrassment. She thought it was incredibly cute that he made such a great effort to make himself look good tonight just for her. And it wasn't like he _needed _it. He was the most attractive male she knew no matter what he wore.

"You look very good, Booth." She smirked, but her words couldn't be more sincere. She realized she really enjoyed flirting with him. "And you smell very good too."

"Thanks, Bones." He couldn't look at her. "Ok, bub. Here we are. Say goodbye to Bones before you embarrass me even more, babblemouth."

"I'm not a babble mouth!" The boy said offended.

"I don't think he is either, Booth." Of course, she would take his side. Who could resist baby Booth? "He was just providing me some cute information."

"Cute, _very cute_." Booth muttered to himself and took Parker's bag from the trunk. "Ready to go?"

"Yes." Parker leaned forward to give Brennan a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Bones!"

"Bye, Parker." She smiled. "It was very nice seeing you."

"Bye, Dad." He gave his dad a big hug. "See you on Wednesday, right?"

"Right, buddy." They pumped their fists together. "Behave, alright?"

"I always do." He grinned and started walking towards the door, but came back a second later like he'd forgotten something really important at the car and poked his head at his father's window. "Oh, just one more thing, can you two start working on making my brother tonight?" He asked hopefully. "Please? 'Cause I'm_ really _getting tired of waiting."

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**I'm sorry if there are even more mistakes and typos than usual. I'm a bit sleep deprived and only proofread it once. =/**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'M SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN SO LONG!**

**But I have good reasons. First, I was on vacation, just enjoying some beautiful islands that have beaches I'm pretty sure are samples of what heaven looks like. LOL But, despite what you think, heaven does not have internet connection, so, I didn't spend much time in the computer (which, mind you, is a good thing once in a while).**

**Then I came back and got hit with this horrible writer's block… and I wrote about a line of this chapter each day of the past weeks. Haha That is, until tonight.**

**I'm quite sure last night's episode was a good help to my inspiration, after last week's fiasco (Seriously, Hannah, what the hell are you still doing around? And who in her sane mind would be so freaking cool with her boyfriend's partner being in love with him – when even he admitted he also had feelings for her? GET A CLUE, HANNAH BANANA!). **

**I'm glad old Bones is coming back!**

**And… now a lot of fluffy written especially for you!

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"Remind me of never, ever, bringing Parker with me again when I'm going to pick you up." Booth said when he finally caught his breath again, two minutes after leaving Parker at Rebecca's. _The things that kid says…_

"He's a child, Booth. And he's very eager to get a sibling." Brennan didn't see the big deal with Parker's words. He was just a child like any other, who just wanted a sibling to play with. "It's a very normal desire."

"But he shouldn't… he shouldn't say stuff like that." He stared at the road. "It's embarrassing, Bones."

"He's innocent, Booth." She smiled. "Now, what about telling me where are we going?"

"Good try. I told you it was going to be a surprise." He chuckled at her adorable pouty face. It was almost irresistible, but he was a strong guy. "But you're going to find out soon, we are almost there."

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"An ice staking rink?" She frowned when he parked at the familiar place. "It's not fair. You know I'm not very adapted with skaters."

"Oh? I thought you had a lot of natural athletic ability, Bones." He teased and opened the door for her – he was a gentleman after all.

"I do, I'm just not _that _good at ice skating." She pouted. Although, she didn't mind it last time when they skated arm in arm for hours to keep him awake.

"There's no problem, because I'll be holding you all the time." He smiled and all her worries went away as her body melted. _Man, that charming smile was powerful..._

"You will?" She grinned.

"Uh-huh." He nodded. "Just like I did that time I had to spend the night awake and you came here with me. You know, that was one of the best nights of my life. I loved how I could hold you without feeling guilty about it. And we had a lot of fun."

"We really did." She agreed. "Although, I did not enjoy the numerous bruises I had on my body the following day due to the great amount of falls I had on the ice." She winced at the memory. She had very fair skin and the bruises certainly didn't look very flattering on her body.

"You were trying to bring me down with you at least once." He chuckled. Whenever she lost balance, she clung on him to either try to prevent the fall or to bring him down with her. Of course, he didn't mind it. _At all._

"And I succeeded." Brennan smirked.

"Yeah, how could I forget that?" He shot her a knowing look. "I landed on top of you."

They smiled at each other, the memory of the night warming them. They were skating hand in hand when Booth thought it would be fun to skate a little faster, so he took her by her hand and slid through the ice with her. But Brennan wasn't as adapted with the skaters as he was, so a moment later she was on the floor, but not before bringing him down with her. She didn't expect him to land on top of her, and they stared at each other longingly for countless seconds before Booth awkwardly stood up.

"I thought you'd kiss me." She admitted.

_Was there a hint of disappointment in her voice?_

"I thought I'd lose a tooth if I kissed you." He smiled.

"You wanted to?"

"You're kidding me?" He laughed. "Bones, I should have won an Award for Self Control that day for _not _kissing you." He remembered how adorable she looked in her red outfit and how much he wanted to kiss her that night.

"I wanted you to kiss me that night." She looked away, a mischievous smile dancing on her face as she talked, like she could read his thoughts.

"You did?" He turned his head to look at her.

"Yes."

"Well, I guess I can make that up for you today." Saying that, he took her hand and interlaced their fingers together while they walked toward the entrance. Brennan's smirk went away and she stared at their hands and then looked up at him.

"What, Bones?" He was amused at her surprise.

"I don't know, I think it's just weird doing couple-y things with you, even though I shouldn't feel like this. We went out together so many times, but… it was different, there was that line, and we didn't have to worry…" She rambled, although she never tried to take her hand back.

"And we don't have to worry now." He guaranteed.

"I know." She smiled sweetly at him. They would make things work this time. She was a very intelligent person, she wouldn't make the same mistake again. She wouldn't lose another chance. "I like holding your hand."

"And I like holding your hand." They shared one of their looks. "Come on, people are waiting for us."

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"I still can't believe you closed the rink tonight just for us." Brennan commented as they skated in the completely empty rink, arms linked. "You didn't have to do that, Booth. It must have cost a fortune."

"You're not the only one with strings to pull, Bones." He winked. "But even if I had to pay, you are worth it." He smiled at her and touched her face with his free hand, staring at her lips but making no efforts to kiss her.

"Are you trying to charm me?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. _Why wasn't he kissing her yet?_

"Perhaps." His grinned like a little boy and he released her arm, starting to skate away.

Her jaw dropped. _What was he doing?_

"Booth!" She yelled. "You promised you would hold me all the time!"

She realized standing still in the skates wasn't a very good idea, so she started so skate slowly. She'd _kill _him for that.

"Change of plans." He sing-sang, loving that she wanted to stay in his embrace. "Come catch me, Bones."

"Oh, you better not wish that." She threatened him, suddenly also enjoying that immensely.

She struggled with the skates as she chased him, but he didn't try very hard to escape from her. Before he knew it, he felt her pulling his jacket from behind and he didn't know how that happened, but one second later they were both on the ice, he standing on top of her.

"You caught me." He said without taking his eyes off her face.

"I caught you." She agreed. He was looking gorgeous on that overcoat, and now that he was so close she could smell the perfume Parker told her about. It smelled delicious. "Now what are you going to do?"

"I think I owe you a kiss." He said in a low, husky tone that threw chills all over her body and shortened the distance between them.

He tasted even better than she remembered. Not that she had a lot of experience on that matter… they'd only kissed three times, and the last one wasn't even a French kiss. She had to make up for that one. They needed to make up for seven years of sexual tension and denied love. Brennan cupped his face and kissed him for what felt like forever. And forever felt amazing.

If it wasn't for the circumstances, she was sure they'd kiss for even longer than forever.

"I almost forgot how incredible it is to kiss you." Booth looked at her with lovely eyes and brushed her smooth cheeks with his knuckles.

"You are a very good kisser." She grinned.

"So is my partner." He couldn't resist stealing a quick kiss.

"Booth…" She frowned. "I really appreciate kissing you, but would you mind if we keep kissing somewhere else? My rear… it's freezing."

He laughed loudly and stood up bringing her up with him.

"I love you, Bones." It was out before he even knew what he'd said. It simply popped out of his mouth and it was so natural that he wouldn't even have realize what he just said if it wasn't for her surprised face. "What? You knew that already. I told you the other night."

"I know." She took his hand on hers without complaining. "But I still have to get used to hear that in normal situations like this."

"Well, then get used to it, because I'm going to say that a lot from now on." He kissed her one more time. _Man, he loved that!_

"Okay, now it's time to go somewhere else." Booth said once he let go of her lips.

"We are going to _another _place?"

"What kind of date do you think this is, Bones?" He teased her. "Do you think I'd ask you out on a date and let you starve to death?"

"I'm not starving-"

"Oh, you better be, because you're going to eat _the best-meal-of-your-life_." He said as they left the rink and started taking off the skates.

"I doubt it. I've been to the best restaurants in the world." She said in her best non-modesty- tone.

He chuckled.

"What a nice thing to say, Bones. Now my hopes just went up to the moon."

"I'm sorry." She blushed when she realized it had been rude. "I'm certain wherever we eat, it will be great."

"You can bet on that." He touched the tip of her nose with his finger.

"So where is this restaurant?" She asked and he just smirked. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, let me guess… another surprise?"

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**Reviews = Love.**

**I just have to say **_**The Fire in the Ice**_** is on my top 5 favorites episodes, especially because of its ending scene. I think it's the most couple-y episode in the show. Booth and Brennan are just so completely adorable during the entire episode!**

**By the way, I posted another story today, it's called **_**Photographs**_**. Check it if you have time! =D**


	10. Chapter 10

**You know, I was here complaining to myself that none of the stories I'm reading were getting updates lately and then I realized how long it had been since**_** I**_** updated **_**my **_**story and felt very, **_**very**_** guilty. **

**This was supposed to be the last chapter, but I just couldn't finish it tonight, so I split it because I didn't want to leave you waiting for much longer.**

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"Okay, now you wait out here for a second." Booth said when they reached his apartment's door. "I know leaving your date waiting for you outside is not on _Date 101_, but I promise it's gonna be really quick."

Brennan was confused. "I guessed we were going to a restaurant, Booth. I thought you wanted to take things slowly with our new relationship, but if you want to jump right to the sex…"

"_Bones!_" Booth felt all his blood rushing to his face. There he was, trying to make something nice for her and she was jumping to the wrong conclusions. Of course, _yes_, he wanted to have sex with her, but they'd agreed with taking things slowly and he liked it. He just thought that instead of taking her to a nice restaurant like every other guy in town would do in a date, she'd enjoy a homemade meal. _That's_ why he brought her to his apartment. "I didn't bring you here to have sex with you!"

"You didn't?" Her brows knitted, a bit of disappointment clear on her face.

"No!" He dropped his hands to his sides and took a deep breath. _Everything was going so well…_ why this now? "You know what? Just wait here for a minute, alright?"

"Okay…" She nodded, more confused than ever.

"Okay…" He repeated as if telling himself that was how things would end: okay.

_._

_._

He closed the door behind him and sighed. _Why did he act like such a teenage boy? _Now that he'd entered his apartment and she was no longer at his sight, he felt stupid for overreacting at her suggestion of sex. She didn't look mad or disappointed at the idea, on the contraire, she looked disappointed _after_ he told it was not the reason they were there.

There was nothing he wanted more than taking her in his arms and showing her what making love really felt like, but he didn't want to rush things between them like that. They'd just taken that huge step in their relationship. After seven long years of denial, heart breaks and deceptions, they were finally going out on their _first_ date. And it was going pretty well until this moment, thank you very much. He didn't want her thinking he was like all the other guys. He _loved _her.

Shaking the fearful thoughts away, he looked around at his place. The room was tidier than ever and everything was placed as it should be. He smiled. He and Parker had done such a good job. Running to the kitchen to pick the matches box, he was much more confident than he was a few seconds ago that could still be the best date ever.

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_Why did I have to ask that?_

Temperance Brennan felt like knocking her head into the wall. Of course Booth's intentions wasn't like every other guys and they'd agreed to take things slowly, but God, it'd been so long for her… suddenly the idea of having sex was more pleasant than ever, especially sex with_ him_. But then she'd had to go and make things all uncomfortable with the suggestion. _Way to go, Brennan._

She was startled when the door opened again, showing a smiling Booth on the other side. A sigh of relief left her mouth when she saw him again.

"I'm sorry…" The words were out before she could stop them. "I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. If you don't want to have sex…"

"Bones, I want to have sex." He didn't take his eyes from hers so she could see how much he meant that. "You have no idea how much I want it. But I just want to let things happen naturally, you know? Let's just not schedule a time, okay? When it happens… well, it happens." He stroked her cheeks tenderly with his knuckles.

"Okay." She smiled and he couldn't resist kissing her again.

It was so incredible. Every time their lips met felt like a first time. And every time he loved the sensation even more.

He was smirking when he let go of her lips.

"What?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Nothing." He brushed a streak of hair out of her face. "It's just really nice that I can kiss you anytime I want now."

"Well, not anytime." She reminded him. "It would be highly inappropriate if you kissed me in the middle of an interrogation or in a crime scene… now thinking about it, pretty much whenever we are working. It would be very unprofessional."

He rested his hand on the wall behind her and leaned towards her, locking her between him and the wall.

"You're telling me I won't be able to kiss you during work time?" He snorted. _Like that would happen._

"Yes, that's pretty much what I said." She nodded seriously.

_Not in a million years, Bones. Nuh-uh. So not happening._

"But… we spend over eight hours at work every day." He reminded her.

"I know."

"You can't possibly believe I'll be able to spend the freaking whole day with you and not kiss you."

"Booth, we've been working together for seven years and we never kissed during work. You can control your urges." She said like it was the easiest thing.

"Oh, but that was before I got the green light with you, Bones…" He smiled, leaning in to kiss her again. _It was becoming an obsession…_

"I don't know what that means." She murmured against his lips.

"It means that it's not going to work, the whole 'not-kissing-during-work' thing." He said, their noses almost touching, the sexual tension stronger than ever.

_Resist, Seeley, you need to keep your word. Keep things slowly, that's what you said._

"It will." Temperance Brennan was always up for a challenge. Plus, it would be a sweet torture.

"Can't I kiss you in the car, while we are _driving _to the crime scene?" He grinned, much like a little boy, in her opinion. It was quite adorable, she had to admit. "Or at my office after we finish an interrogation?"

"Well… I guess, if no one is looking… and you behave well…" She teased, running her finger from his neck to his chest.

_Oh, little witch._

"I always behave well…" He whispered, trying to keep what was left of his self-control.

"And as long as you let me drive…" She said mischievously, finger still playing on his chest.

And then it did it.

He laughed loudly.

"_What?_" She frowned, seduction spell broken.

"I'm_ not_ letting you drive, Bones." He pointed a finger at her amused.

"That is so unfair." Brennan pouted. _So close…_

"FBI's SUV, FBI guy." He pointed to himself. "_I_ drive."

"Anthropologist's mouth. Anthropologist." She pointed to herself. "_I_ decide when we kiss." She whispered, her lips teasing him again, very close but yet not touching.

"We're going to see." He caught her lips again. "Because I doubt you'll be able to resist me…"

"Of course I will." She let out a sarcarstic laugh.

"Hmm, I don't think so… I'm _very_ irresistible." He murmured.

She chuckled.

"You're so very cocky, Seeley Booth."

"That's what they say." He smiled and grabbed her hand. "Now, let's go. We don't want our food to get cold."

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**That's it for now, guys. I'm sorry it's so short, I'll try not to take this long to update again.**

**Now the million dollar question: Will they resist falling in each arms till the end of the night or will they just follow Parker's suggestion and starting working on making his little brother?**

**You tell me! ;)**

**In other news, who wants to come to my place Thursday night? I'm throwing a **_**"Hannah is finally leaving!**_**" party. Just bring whatever you're drinking! hahaha**

**Oh, now really, I can't believe the day we waited to come since we learned about her after the season finale is finally coming! =D**


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't have any real excuse this time. Only that I've been going through a terrible writer's block moment and Booth actually going and proposing to Hannah really didn't help me with that, actually, it only helped to steal what left of my muse away.**

**But thankfully Bagdad Barbie is finally gone, and seems like our show is finally going back on track.**

**So, this is the last chapter. I don't think I'm very good with fluffy, so I really hope this won't disappoint. =/

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"You were right." Brennan smiled, licking the white chocolate mousse off the spoon.

"I was right?" He grinned immediately. After almost a decade knowing Dr. Temperance Brennan, he knew that statement wasn't a very usual thing.

"Yes." She dug the spoon in the cup again, trying to pick a strawberry with the mousse this time. "You told me this would be the best meal I've ever had, and I have to admit that the junction of the very delicious meal made by you, plus the romantic environment…" She brought the spoon to her mouth again and smiled mischievously at him. "… and the amazing company, this has to be the best meal of my life."

They were sitting in the middle of his living room, where he settled a table, complete with fancy porcelain china – which he borrowed from sweet 87 year-old Mrs. Ross from the next door – and silver cutlery. Parker helped him arranging candles all over the place, candles that were now responsible for the illumination of the room.

"So glad to hear it." He took advantage of her thankfulness to steal a kiss, licking a piece of chocolate that got stuck on her lower lip.

"I never knew you were such a great cook. The vegetarian dish was incredible and this…" She raised the now almost empty cup. "Is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten."

"I made a little research for the vegetarian risotto." He admitted. "The dessert… it's grandma's receipt. Parker helped me with it."

"It's really good."

"Although he ate more of the chocolate than he helped me." He added with a laugh.

"I can't blame him." She paid attention to what was left of her white chocolate mousse. "He's an incredible kid."

"I'm very proud of him, yes." He nodded, not sure why she brought that up.

"I still want to have a baby." She said so lowly he almost didn't hear her.

"Well, that's good, because Parker really wants a little brother, as you could notice when we dropped him off at Rebecca's." He chuckled.

"So, you want another kid?" Booth's heart swelled inside his chest when he saw her hopeful face.

"You can bet on that." He smiled. "I'd love to have a little Bones."

She grinned back, locking eyes with him and not knowing what to say.

Their eye-sex was broken when the phone rang.

"Who could possibly be calling this late at night?" Booth frowned. He hated that their perfect date was being interrupted.

Thinking that something serious might have happened, Booth reached out to answer.

"Hello?"

"_Dad_?" A muffled voice came from the other side.

"Parker?" He was immediately worried. "Why are you calling me this late? Is something wrong?"

"No, Dad, I'm fine." Another whisper came quickly.

"Then why are you calling me at midnight?"

"I have to know how things went with you and Bones." He explained. "Have you kissed her yet?"

"Parker…"

"I hope you did, cuz I heard people kiss before starting trying for real to have a baby."

_Oh, no. Not the baby making-talk again._

"I kissed her, alright." Booth decided to tell the truth. The kid was excited, and he_ did_ help him making this night perfect.

"Yes!" Another muffled sound.

"Parker, why are you speaking like this?"

"I'm under my comforter. Mom is gonna kill me if she realizes I'm still awake. She sent me to bed three hours ago."

"And you should really be sleeping. You have class tomorrow morning."

"I couldn't sleep unless I knew for sure you and Bones were going for it."

"_Parker!_"

"What? I heard Mom telling her friend another day that Janine and her husband were going for it all the time trying for a baby. So, you and Bones must too."

"I'll have to have a talk with Rebecca…" Booth knitted his brows. "Now you should really go to bed, buddy."

"Okay… oh, and Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Did Bones like the meal?"

"Yeah, she loved it."

"And you told her I helped with the dessert?"

"Uh-hum. And she said you were an amazing cook."

"I am!" He could see the grin on the boy's face. "Tell her 'hi' from me and tell her I asked to make my brother real fast."

"Okay, bub, but that might take a little time."

"No, Dad. No more time. I've waited way too much already." Booth heard sounds on the background. "Oh! I gotta go! I think Mom is awake! Bye, Dad!"

"Bye, Parks. I love you."

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By the time he hang up the phone, Brennan had already taken some of the dishes to the kitchen and was coming back to take more.

"Hey! Leave it there. You're my guest, you don't have to help me cleaning up."

"We shared meals countless times before, Booth." She leaned down to kiss him. He tasted like white chocolate. "I don't mind it."

"And I don't mind this." He grabbed her by her waist and the next thing she knew, she was on his lap. "Man, you taste good."

She chuckled.

"So, what did Parker want?" She asked during the brief moment his mouth left hers.

"Just, you know, know if I'd kissed you yet and if you liked the meal." He ran his finger down her arms and she felt goosebumps all over her body.

"You want this to be a perfect date, don't you?" She asked in a sexy, husky voice while playing with the collar of his shirt.

"Yes." He gulped. _What was she trying to do?_

"And you told me you want things to happen naturally between us, correct?" She brushed her lips on his, leaning on his chest.

"Correct." _Oh, lord, now he was having trouble breathing._

"Because I'm feeling a very natural instinct to do things that include more than kiss you." She opened a crooked smiled and looked down at his lap and then at his face again. "And giving your obvious arousal, so do you."

"You're killing me here, Bones." He managed to say as she stroked his legs so very slowly.

"Plus, it's been seven years, Booth, I'd say we already took things _way _too slowly. " She pouted, now shoving her sneaky hands under his shirt.

And that was it for him.

He took her in his arms and stood up quickly. She squealed surprised, but smiled when she noticed he was carrying her to his bedroom.

"I changed the bed." He felt the need to tell her that as he laid her on the new mattress, but she barely heard what he said, and instead of questioning, she grabbed his shirt and brought him down closer to her. _"Bones…" _

And after that, there was almost no talk anymore and, instead, there was a lot of more kissing. _Lots and lots of kissing_. When they finished taking off each other's clothes, Brennan stared at him with teary eyes.

"What's wrong?" His heart sunk. _What if she suddenly started regretting all that was happening?_

"I love you." She smiled and let a few tears fall while stroking his pretty face tenderly. "I'm just really happy that all of this is really happening."

He held her closer – _if that was even possible_ – and kissed her tears away.

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Later that night, they lied exhausted and sweaty at the huge bed, but they were grinning like fools.

"We shouldn't have waited so long." Brennan finally said. "You were right, Booth. You cannot compare having sex with making love. This was incredible."

"Wow. That makes two in one single night." He laughed and kissed her again, almost not believing that night was really happening. "One more and I'll be really sure this is all a dream."

"This certainly is not a dream." She rolled over to be on top of him. "What are you talking about?"

"Two times, Bones. It's the second time you tell me that I'm right tonight." He smirked.

"Well…" She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, pretending to think about it while her hands ran down his chest teasingly. "Don't get very used to it." She cracked a satisfied smiled when she felt something reliving beneath her. "Wow, that was fast." She raised her eyebrows mischievously.

"Seven years, Bones." He kissed her quickly and the next she knew, they had switched positions. _"Ready for round two?"_

"I'm always ready, baby." She teased him, wrapping her arms around his neck to bring his mouth back to hers. "Plus, we have to try our best to make Parker happy. He _really_ wants that baby brother."

Booth laughed. "He really does."

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**THE END**

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**Thank you all for reading and reviewing this little story! :)  
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**I have half an epilogue written, anyone interested in reading what happens after? ;)  
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	12. EPILOGUE

**Thank you for all the reviews on the past chapter! And now, here is the epilogue for you!

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EPILOGUE

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"Up, Parks! Up! I wanna hang the balloon!" The little girl jumped up and down, arms raised, when she realized her older brother had finished filling the red balloon with air.

"No, Parks! Lift _me_! It's _my_ turn, Ollie!" The other little girl pointed out, hands on her hips.

"But I want to hang the balloon!" Ollie pouted.

"Then you have to wait till it's _your_ turn!"

"You two, stop right now." Parker snapped. He knew his sisters, if he let that discussion go farther, it would end up with the two of them crying and looking miserable, trying to earn the sympathy of whoever was around. He knew better than anyone how they could be little drama queens and given the fact they were so darn adorable - especially now with matching outfits and pigtails, they'd always end up getting what they wanted. _But not this time_. They didn't have time for that. Bones could arrive any minute now.

"You know Ollie, Parks, she always wants _everything_!" His sister whined.

"Alright, alright. Ollie, this is Lizzie's turn. Wait for yours." He ignored Olivia's pouting lips and huge eyes and lifted Elizabeth, who joyfully taped the red balloon to the ceiling. "You two will drive me crazy one of these days, I mean it." He added and put Lizzie back on the floor.

"You were the one who wouldn't stop begging me for a little brother or sister." Booth chuckled entering the living room with a tray of snacks. "And the one who kept calling to ask me if Bones and I were working hard on making a baby, because you were oh, so tired of waiting." He added, just to tease his son.

Parker blushed. Now that he was older and wiser, he felt quite embarrassed about his younger-self behavior.

"A little brother. _Brother._" The fourteen-year-old gazed at his father. "And you gave me these_ two_ little devils instead." He narrowed his eyes at his little sisters in a playful way. Yes, they did drive him crazy sometimes, but he loved them more than anything. Plus, he loved that he was their hero.

"We are not devils!" Ollie shook her head offended, creasing her forehead in a way that reminded Booth so much of her mother.

"Daddy says we are his little angels." Lizzie added.

"You are, sweetheart." Booth smiled delighted at his little girls.

"And like it wasn't enough, they came at the_ same_ time!" Parker continued, tickling the little girls as he talked.

"No surprise in there, sweetie. After denying the hot S-E-X they obviously wanted for _so_ many years, it's no wonder Brennan got pregnant with twins at their first time." Angela, who was finishing setting the table on the other side of the room, couldn't help commenting.

"Thanks for talking about _that _with my son, Angela. Very much appreciated." Booth groaned.

"He's fourteen, Booth. He knows how babies are made." She smirked.

"Daddy, what's '_sex'_?" Ollie asked her father, who blushed slightly and felt an urge to throttle his friend.

"WHAT?" Angela couldn't believe in what she had just heard.

"I don't know what it means either." Lizzie shrugged and looked puzzled at her identical sister.

"Something neither of you will even_ think _about until you are thirty, let alone speak aloud." Booth warned them. _Jeez, just the thought of his baby girls thinking about it freaked him out. Too bad Bones would never allow him to send them to a convent…_

"But it's gonna take _so long_ till we are thirty, Daddy. It took _ages_ for our fourth birthday to come. We'll have to be old as you and mom and it will take _forever."_ Ollie reminded him with a frown. She and Lizzie had a little calendar over their beds, in which they scratched the days till they finally got to the very expected day of their princess party.

"Pity." Booth sighed sarcastically.

"They can _spell_?" Angela asked finally. "They are four years old!" Mia turned five the month before and she was just starting to learn about the alphabet.

"Only small words." Booth pursed his lips. He knew letting Bones teach their children so early wouldn't be a good idea. "They are Bones' kids, Ange." He put the tray on the table. "She's been teaching them about the alphabet and numbers since they were two with educational games."

"That's crazy."

"And you want to know what's crazier? They_ love_ those games." He opened his eyes widely. "Gotta tell you, those two are two little squints in the making, and giving how much Parker loves science, I'm doomed." He faked a sad sigh. "I'm literally going to be the only normal person in this household."

"Yeah, because you're _so _very normal." Angela laughed. "I won't even start talking about clowns, or striped socks and funny ties…"

"There's nothing wrong with my socks and ties." Booth frowned.

"Mommy's games are cool." Lizzie felt the need to defend her mother's educational games while her aunt and her father bantered.

"And I always win." Ollie grinned.

"No, you don't. I win _plenty _of times." Lizzie disagreed.

"I win more."

"Alright." Booth looked at his watch and decided it was time to end the discussion and get the girls ready. "Mommy is gonna be here really soon, so, let's go upstairs and get dressed up."

"I want to wear my blue dress tonight." Lizzie said, taking her father's left hand. "The one with the Cinderella charm, can I, pretty please, Daddy?"

"And I want my pink one, can I wear it, Daddy?" Ollie asked, taking his other hand.

"Yeah, yeah, like I have a choice when you two look at me with those big, begging, Bones eyes." Booth chuckled as he took his little princess upstairs.

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It was six o'clock sharp when Brennan turned off the car at the garage. She smiled as she always did when she arrived home. Since the girls were born, she made sure to never work extra hours. Usually Booth would pick them up at school and then met her at the Jeffersonian, but the twins had the day off today and she had to drive herself home. It still scared her a little bit how much she wanted to get home every night, how much she missed Booth the days they weren't working in any case, how much she missed having dinner with her daughters and Parker and snuggling up on the couch with her family when she had to travel for a day or two for business.

The pregnancy had been a huge surprise; she hadn't expected to get pregnant so quickly. One month after she began dating Booth officially, she started feeling nauseated frequently and when she had to leave a crime scene to throw up when she saw the body, Booth was thrilled with the possibility of becoming a father again. She told him it was ridiculous, she couldn't be pregnant, it wouldn't happen that fast. But it did, and when they found out they were having twins, she freaked out for a little while. _And blamed Booth for his super sperm_. He, of course, was delighted by the idea of having not one, but two adorable little babies with his Bones, and it didn't take long until she was also over the moon.

All Parker would talk about for months was his little brothers, when it came out to be two little sisters, he felt a little disappointed, but as soon as the girls were born, they had their older brother wrapped around their little fingers. The same with their grandpa, and Auntie Angela, and Uncle Hodgins, and Uncle Sweets – who'd always, always fall on their traps, and Auntie Cam, who wasn't even that much found of kids but couldn't resist them, and even Caroline Julian, who admitted the girls had a lot of personality and she liked that.

The house was oddly quietly when she slipped the key on the lock. Booth told her Parker would be home tonight, which meant the girls would go crazy with happiness, which meant lots of squeals and laughers.

She opened the door slowly, squinting as she tried to find the light switch. _Where did Booth go with the kids?_

"_SURPRISE!"_

She jumped startled and laughed when she realized what was happening. The house was all decorated for her birthday, which she had completely forgotten, and the living room was filled with all her friends and family.

Two tiny pairs of feet started running toward her and Brennan went down on her knees to hug the two most precious gifts she'd ever received in her life.

"I love you, Mommy. Happy Birthday!" The girls said together, dropping sloppy kissed all over their mother's face.

Brennan held their tighter and kissed them back. "I love you too."

She stood up and smiled widely when she saw who the next person coming to talk to her was.

Well, he kissed her before actually talking, but _hey_.

"Happy Birthday, baby." And then, he kissed her again, just because it never got old.

"I completely forgot today was my birthday."

"Don't try to hide it, Bones… I know it's hard to turn 40, at first you're gonna feel old, but you'll get used to it, I promise. Welcome to the club." He teased and leaned forward to whisper on her ear. "_And… you are just getting sexier and sexier with time_."

"Daddy, let go of Mommy, I want to show her the decoration." Ollie poked him.

"And she has to talk with everyone." Lizzie added. "_They brought gifts_!" She grinned excited.

"Alright, alright, there's no way I'll win this, right?" He pouted at Brennan, who just laughed and took her little girls' hands and walked to the center of the room, where everyone was waiting to give her their best wishes.

"Lizzie and I helped with everything, because Daddy and Parks were doing it all_ wrong_!" Olivia told her mother. "And then Auntie Angie arrived and helped too. _Men can't do anything right_..." She rolled her eyes.

"Where do they get those things from?" Booth asked.

"I told you we shouldn't introduce them to television, but you wouldn't listen to me…"

"I didn't want my children to be the only ones at school who didn't know a thing about Nickelodeon or Disney Channel! Plus, I bet she heard that from _you_."

"Mommy said that when you went to the grocery store and bought her the wrong tofu." Ollie remembered.

"Ha! See? I knew she's heard that from you!"

"What's so hard about buying tofu?"

"It's _tofu_! I don't eat tofu and they looked all alike!"

"No, actually-"

"Happy Birthday, Bones!" Parker cut her off with a hug, knowing their bickering would last forever if he didn't stop them. He knew where his sisters got that from. He was pretty sure his dad and Bones liked to bicker just as much as they liked to kiss each other, which he politely asked them to not do in front of him, but they'd never listened anyway.

He let go of his stepmother and watched as she greeted all the other guests, his father always by her side, his hand never leaving the small of her back. He smiled. Their life had never been happier than in the past five years and he was very thankful for the way things turned out. It still bothered him that they took so long to get together, since even when he was a little boy he knew those two were meant to be a couple. But maybe they were supposed to go through everything they did, or maybe grownups just liked to complicate simple things, but what mattered was that after a lot of denial, and hurt, and missing changes, they finally got to their eventually.

And the eventually was such a happy place.


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